London – Most drinkers are unwittingly consuming more calories than they realise, a public health expert has warned.
As a result, alcohol is helping fuel the obesity epidemic.
The majority of women do not know that two large glasses of wine contain 370 calories – almost a fifth of their recommended daily allowance.
Now the Royal Society for Public Health is calling for a law change on labelling to raise awareness about the ‘invisible calories’ in alcohol.
It wants all drinks sold in pubs, bars, restaurants and shops to have labels detailing not only how many units of alcohol the contain but the calorie content as well.
Professor Fiona Sim, chairman of the Royal Society for Public Health, says the trend of serving larger glasses of wine and drinks with a higher alcohol content is hampering efforts to control obesity.
‘Among adults who drink, an estimated 10 percent of their daily calorie intake comes from alcohol,’ Dr Sim warned.
‘With the insidious increase in the size of wine glasses in bars and restaurants in the past decade, it seems likely that many of us have unwittingly increased the number of “invisible” calories we consume in alcohol. Most women, for example, do not realise that two large glasses of wine, containing 370 calories, comprise almost a fifth of their daily recommended energy intake, as well as containing more than the recommended daily limit of alcohol units.’
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr Sim said a survey by the Royal Society found that four-fifths of the 2,117 adults questioned did not know the calorie content of common pub drinks.
Most were in favour of calorie labelling on alcohol.
By law, packaged food has to carry nutrition information but alcoholic drinks that contain more than 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume are exempt. Dr Sim said that customers questioned in bars were not aware that a large glass of wine contains almost as many calories as a doughnut and about half the calories of a burger.
‘Hardly anyone interviewed seemed to know much about the calorie content of alcoholic drinks, and most wanted more information,’ she said
‘It is impossible to ignore our failure to deal with obesity. Daily, in clinical and public health practice, we see its cost to individuals and society. Drinking alcohol is common and, in excess, harmful. To what extent do the calories consumed in alcohol contribute to the obesity epidemic?’
Some drink manufacturers have begun to introduce calorie labelling. In the US, such information is compulsory in large restaurant chains and Ireland could become the first European country to follow suit.
Dr Sim said: ‘Alcohol content (in units) and energy content (in calories) should be included both on drink labels and menus.
‘We must wait for robust evidence to understand the effect on alcohol consumption of labelling that shows calories as well as units.
‘Meanwhile, accurate, prominent, and meaningful nutritional information, particularly calorie content, should be mandatory on all alcoholic drinks as a matter of urgency. There is no reason why calories in alcohol should be treated any differently from those in food.’
Daily Mail